Explaining the dynamics of US alliance-building against China in the South China Sea

Document Type : Original Article

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PhD student in International Relations, University of Guilan

10.22080/jpir.2026.29930.1446

Abstract

The South China Sea is considered a strategic region in Asia and the Pacific. In the past decade, this region has become a scene of US-China confrontation and confrontation. The emergence of China's hard power in the region and the response of the United States and the South China Sea littoral states to these threats, while developing tensions and arms races in East Asia, can affect the balance of power in East Asia. Therefore, the main question of the research is how the application of Waltz's balance of power theory can explain the dynamics of US alliance-building against China in the South China Sea? The research hypothesis is that China, by adopting a policy of internal balancing, has shown aggressive and tough behavior in the South China Sea, which, in addition to increasing Beijing's naval power, is considered a strategic threat to the United States and its regional partners in East Asia. Therefore, the United States has resorted to the balance of power initiative in the form of external balancing in its grand strategy in response to threats and increasing Chinese power in the South China Sea. These confrontations will greatly affect the security and power structure in East Asia.

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